The T20 World Cup continues with just a solitary game on the schedule on Saturday and thankfully after a washout on Friday the forecast at the Sydney Cricket Ground is a whole lot better which will please New Zealand and Sri Lanka as they do battle in Group 1 of the Super 12s.
The two washouts on Friday has made this group extremely tight but whoever wins here will have the chance to separate themselves from the rest so there is no reason to think this won’t be an extremely competitive match.
New Zealand
New Zealand haven’t escaped the rain themselves. After demolishing the hosts Australia on this ground to get their campaign up and running, the Kiwis then had to watch on as the rain washed out their encounter against Afghanistan. The margin of victory against Australia was such that New Zealand top the group heading into this match and so a win here will put them in a great position to make the final four once again.
If there is a question mark over New Zealand it might be just what they beat in Australia. Australia haven’t really played well in this tournament yet and while that won’t be of interest to the Kiwis, it does mean that they might think they are going better than they are. I still have my suspicions about their batting unit, especially if Williamson and Conway bat most of the innings as both are sometimes guilty of scoring too slowly.
Sri Lanka
Unlike everyone else in this group, Sri Lanka have dodged the rain so far but they could be forgiven for wishing they hadn’t in their second match. That came in Perth against Australia, where to be fair at the 30 over mark they were well in the game, if not in front of it, but then ran into a full storm from Marcus Stoinis and went down quite tamely in the end. That was a pity as their initial win over Ireland left them in an excellent position from which to push for the semi-finals.
I don’t think Sri Lanka should be too down on themselves though. Conditions in Perth are very unique and aren’t ones which Sri Lanka encounter too often. They should be much more at home here in Sydney and can be judged on how they perform here rather than out west. The concern for Sri Lanka is that they are running out of seam bowlers but the ones they have are still getting the job done. If that continues here then they are not without a chance.
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Team News
New Zealand are expected to welcome Daryl Mitchell back from injury for this match. He is likely to replace Mark Chapman in what could otherwise be a team which is unchanged from the emphatic win over Australia.
Sri Lanka have been forced into another change with Binura Fernando the latest bowler to be ruled out of this competition for them. He will be replaced by Pramod Madushan who is fit again after an injury of his own.
Betting
I’ll go with three bets over the course of the match here with the first of them coming in the form of over 318.5 runs. The matches on this ground so far have been extremely high scoring and we are getting to the stage of the tournament where we are going to get matches on the pitches on the edge of the square which will create an even shorter than usual boundary. Both teams have left-handers in their ranks so that short boundary will always be in play and both teams bat deep. There is no rain around at all here so we should see the batters having the better of things for once and that can lead to more than 318.5 runs in this one.
The next bet I like is the performance of Wanindu Hasaranga which is a line of 32.5. He got taken to the cleaners by Marcus Stoinis in Perth but the pitch there doesn’t suit his bowling as he likes to threaten the stumps and pad and as such pitches the ball up and is basically cannon fodder on a wicket that doesn’t turn with short straight boundaries where mishits go for six. That is not the case here. Here he has a pitch which does offer some turn and some straighter boundaries which need a good hit to carry. He is also likely to bat in conditions which suit his batting a lot better and he is always in the game for catches. Regular readers will know how much I rate Hasaranga and I’m more than happy to be on the over here.
The other bet I’ll take is a bit of a saver play on Chamika Karunaratne to be the top scorer for Sri Lanka. There is a scenario where New Zealand bat first and go big and Sri Lanka collapse in a heap trying to chase such a score and if that were to happen then Karunaratne could be in the game. While it is a long shot and certainly not a certainty to happen, we should remember that this group is suddenly extremely tight and every match in it from here on in will be loaded with pressure. This is certainly no different. We saw with Pakistan on Thursday that pressure can create carnage and if that happens here then Karunaratne might deliver the goods. He has gone past 20 four times in his short T20I career with three of those coming against South Africa and India and he was 14* against Australia on Tuesday so he can bat against decent attacks and it is worth paying to see if he can deliver at his 35/1 odds.
Tips
Back Over 318.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back W.Hasaranga’s Performance – Over 32.5pts for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back C.Karunaratne Top Sri Lanka Batter for a 1/10 stake at 36.00 with Betfair
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